When Stars Align
by TheoBurr
Summary: A drunk Holly spots a beautiful girl on a balcony and in the haze of her mind quotes Shakespeare. Cute and silly. Thought up from a prompt I saw on tumblr at 5am.
1. Scene II Capulet

Holly was drunk. Very drunk. Definitely more drunk than she meant to be when she accepted the offer to go to this party Lisa had invited her to. But after an entire evening of hanging out awkwardly while Lisa made out with her current fling she had started drinking a tad more heavily than she had originally intended. In fact she hadn't wanted to drink at all. Holly had wanted to go back to her dorm and study. Instead, it was some time after 11pm and she was drunk and lying in the cool grass of the host's backyard looking up at the sky.

It had been so hot inside the house with all those sweaty bodies beginning to press into each other while dancing and laughing and playing all manner of games with the same outcome of additional intoxication. So, Holly had pushed her way out back where it was quiet and calm with a breeze that felt amazing across her flushed skin. Only a few other party goers were outside with her and all of them in varying states of unconsciousness. But she only found their silence comforting. Combined with the cold air brushing against her skin it almost reminded her of the autopsy lab that she'd recently been introduced to by one of her professors in an off site extra credit assignment.

As her eyes passed along the invisible lines of memorized constellations she noticed a light in the corner of her eyes come from the direction of the balcony of the second floor. Her eyes followed the source of the intruding illumination and a moment later a very beautiful young woman leaned on the railing overlooking the yard where Holly was currently lying down.

Believing herself to be seeing things at first Holly pulled off her glasses and cleaned them off with the sleeve of the oversized cardigan she was wearing. But when she put her glasses back on and pushed them up her nose to their proper resting place she'd realized her initial hypothesis had been more than confirmed. A beautiful woman with bleach blonde hair was resting her head on one hand propped up on the railing and was looking out beyond the backyard.

Through the alcohol induced haze Holly couldn't form the thoughts necessary to process how absolutely entranced she was by the women in front of her. Because of this her brain must have decided to fill in the blanks with pre-recorded information and without a second thought Holly could hear herself quoting lines she'd read more than a dozen times.

"See, how she leans her cheek upon her hand! O, that I were a glove upon that hand, that I might touch that cheek!"

Hearing her own voice in the quiet of the crisp night air around them Holly cursed herself when a piercing gaze turned and fell on her form lying in the grass. Painted red lips twitched up into a bemused smirk.

"If you're trying to be smooth try picking a play where they don't both die at the end."

The voice was sharp but seemed distant and distracted. The kind of tone that fell flat from the mouths of people filled with a sadness they were trying to hide. But the girl was still there. She hadn't gotten up and left at the intrusion of Holly's presence. No, her eyes still rested upon Holly who was now propped up on her arms so she could better focus her foggy attention on the angelic figure above her.

Holly very gently smiled up at her melancholy Juliet.

"She speaks," said Holly, this time more aware and deliberate with her words. If she was going to make a fool of herself to make this girl smile she was at least going to excell at it. "O, speak again, bright angel! For thou art as glorious to this night, being over my head as is a winged messenger of heaven unto the white-upturned wondering eyes of mortals that fall back to gaze on him when he bestrides the lazy-pacing clouds and sails upon the bosom of the air."

Her Juliet's smirk turned into a smile before a quick lick of her lips masked her obvious amusement at this drunk girl in the grass quoting Shakespeare up at her.

"You know Romeo was talking to himself, right?"

Holly smiled and nodded. Skipping ahead in the dialogue to match the conversation Holly continued.

"I take thee at thy word. Call me but love, and I'll be new baptized; Henceforth I never will be Romeo."

A quiet moment passed where the girl above her regarded Holly quietly with the faintest of smiles allowed to cross her lips. Then she turned away. For the briefest moment Holly thought she'd lost the attention of her companion. Then she spoke.

"What kind of man are you to hide in darkness and eavesdrop on my private thoughts?"

Holly let out a warm laugh at the modern translation of Juliet's line and smiled. Her joy was met with an exaggerated eye roll.

"We can't all memorize the exact line, O Nerdeo."

"By a name I know not how to tell thee who I am," said Holly, continuing in the fun. "My name, dear saint, is hateful to myself, because it is an enemy to thee. Had I it written, I would tear the word."

"I haven't even heard you say a hundred words yet I recognize the sound of your voice. Aren't you Nerdeo, the drunk girl quoting Shakespeare at me from down in the grass?"

"Neither, fair saint, if either thee dislike," replied Holly while carefully getting herself up and onto her feet.

"What's your actual name, Nerdeo?" asked the girl, dropping the play as pretense for talking.

"Holly."

The wistful Juliet above her was about to open her mouth to speak when a loud noise came bursting out into the night air and breaking the moment between the two of them. A drunk and uncoordinated arm slung itself around the girl's shoulder and a sloppy drunken kiss found its way onto a stiff, unsmiling cheek from a messy wasted boy. The overwhelming noise from the party within the house spilled out into the backyard and began to envelope them.

"Hey Gail, I was wondering where you ran off to."

"Yeah, well you looked really busy with Felicia," said Gail. "I didn't want to disturb the two of you."

Holly watched how quickly the warmth she'd seen a moment before in Gail's smile had all but vanished and was now colder than a morgue. It was heartbreaking and Holly wished, in that moment, that life was a play. The kind where she would do more than stand awkwardly below while watching the tense exchange above her.

"Gail don't be like that." He tried again for a kiss. Forcing himself into Gail's space.

Gail pushed him away from her and shook her head at him with disgust reading on every bit of her face.

"Don't even bother," she said as she pushed passed him and back into the party.

"What a bitch," said the guy to no one. He turned and rested on the rail for a moment and spotted Holly below looking up at him. "What the fuck are you looking at nerd?"

Holly let out a dry laugh and rolled her eyes.

"Just Paris crashing and burning," said Holly.

Holly was sure the idiot above her said something else that to him seemed tough and intimidating but she was already headed back into the party and he was already long gone from her diminished focus. As she pushed past the grinding bodies around her she spotted Lisa and tried to slip by without notice but for the first time that night her friend's lips weren't attached to her play toy and Lisa quickly caught up to Holly at the front door. Holly had really hoped for a quick escape. She had no false hopes of finding Gail again that night. Not with the mass of bodies coming and going from the large house.

"Holly where have you been?" asked Lisa. "Mary's friend Rose showed up and I wanted to introduce you."

"Thanks but no thanks Lisa," said Holly as she moved toward the door.

"Hey, you've been a total buzzkill all night," said Lisa. "Loosen up and have some fun."

"I have fun Lisa." Holly stopped and rested her hand on the door frame. A couple pushed passed the friends and down the hall before Holly continued addressing her friend. "There's nothing wrong with partying but sometimes I'd rather just stay in. I'll text you later okay. I hope you guys have a great night."

Lisa looked over her friend for a minute before shrugging and pulling her in for an awkward side hug.

"Okay but text me when you get back to the room."

"I will."

Holly let the door snap shut behind her and she leaned against the door frame as she deeply inhaled the air around her.

"You know I always pegged Romeo as a stalker."

Holly's eyes snapped open and she looked next to her on the porch. Gail was sitting on a plastic chair, her phone in hand and the screen casting a small amount of light on her face. Now that they were on the same plane and Gail was a mere few feet from her Holly could make out the dried tear streaks from the dark eyeliner circling Gail's eyes.

"Oh sorry, no...I was just…" Holly stumbled over her words. Shakespeare might have had the power of prose but Holly Stewart was actually just an overworked, stressed out pre-med student who was a still more drunk than sober. "I figured you were still…I wasn't…"

Gail let out a hollow laugh.

"No wonder you have Shakespeare memorized. How else would you talk to anyone?"

Holly let out a short breathy laugh.

"Sorry," said Gail. "That came out a little more mean than I meant it."

"You're fine."

An awkward silence followed as neither girl knew what to say nor did they want to leave.

"Do you like cheap snack foods and soda?" asked Holly. Gail looked at her questioningly. "I was going to head back to my dorm and watch movies until I pass out. You're welcome to come if…"

Gail smiled and gave Holly an incredulous look. It took a moment longer than normal for Holly to add together her flirtatious behavior from earlier and her current offer but as soon as the sum reached her consciousness she back pedaled. Hard.

"I didn't mean...I wasn't…" stammered Holly. "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I swear. I just…"

"Calm down, Romeo," laughed Gail. "It's not your fault. Lesbians totally dig me."

The confident way Gail said that made Holly laugh and she rolled her eyes.

"It's snack foods and movies not a marriage proposal."

"What? Do lesbians not have Netflix and Chill?" asked Gail as she stood and shoved her forgotten phone into her pocket. "Is it more like Logo and Leisure? Halsey and Hand Holding?"

Holly snorted.

"Who even said I'm a lesbian?" asked Holly ask she walked toward the street.

"Somewhere between the flannel and the 'Gay Purrride' t-shirt with the rainbow kitten I didn't think I really needed to be told."

"Oh." Holly looked down. She had completely forgotten she was wearing that shirt. She guessed it really wasn't a surprise that Gail had pegged her sexuality in one go. "Anyways, feel free to say no but my offer still stands."

Gail stood on the front stairs of the house and regarded Holly for a few moments as if sizing her up. Finally she headed down the short walkway toward Holly.

"Fine. But no suicide pacts. I'm not kissing poison from anyone's lips."

"Damn there goes all my dramatic thespian plans," quipped Holly as she slowly started leading them down the street toward the campus and its dorms. Gail laughed and Holly smiled as her chest tightened and her heart skipped.

"Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight," thought Holly. "For I never saw true beauty till this night."


	2. Dream within a Dream

It had been a month since Holly had drunkenly recited Romeo and Juliet to Gail at a party to make her smile and then passed out with her in Holly's bed after staying up laughing at old music videos on Youtube. Much to Holly's surprise, the next morning hadn't been awkward in the slightest but entirely focused on obtaining coffee, Tylenol, and donuts and since then Gail had made an effort almost every night since then to see Holly in some capacity. Their daily class schedules were completely different with Gail focusing on criminal justice while Holly's were almost all science labs at this point. However, most week nights Holly got texts asking if she needed company while studying and Gail would meet her wherever she was set up. From her dorm suite, to a random lab in the science building, to the library Gail would show up and they would hang out and study, sometimes in complete silence, sometimes while talking about anything and almost everything. Gail didn't talk about herself a lot but she could carry on a conversation about almost anything and make it sound relatively interesting.

Fridays and Saturdays were different. Gail would show up at Holly's dorm late at night and always drunk. The first night shocked Holly. She didn't realize how much liquor the blonde could imbibe while maintaining consciousness and most of the night involved her fawning over Gail to make sure she didn't die while Gail just laughed and teased her. After that, Holly would just let Gail in, force water into her hands, and let her sprawl out on her bed while she studied. When Gail was sober, sleeping next to her was like sleeping with any of Holly's other friends but when Gail was drunk she cuddled and very handsy. Holly had woken up more than once with Gail's hands on her back under her shirt. Needless to say, Holly both looked forward to and dreaded Friday and Saturday nights. While it was a rush every time she woke up with Gail snuggled into her arms and fast asleep there was always that pain in knowing they were nothing more than friends. And to say that Holly was falling for Gail would have been the understatement of the year. Possibly decade.

Something that hadn't gone unnoticed by Lisa.

Sharing a dorm suite with your best friend could be both a blessing and a curse as far as Holly was concerned. It was great to know you could yell at your roommate when they didn't do the dishes but it also sucked when it was Lisa who opened the door for drunk Gail on the weekends when Lisa wasn't out partying herself. It always led to a fight in the morning when Gail would leave.

"Holly, she's straight," said Lisa from their small kitchen area.

Apparently it was just going to be another Saturday morning in the Lisa and Holly residence.

"So? We're friends," said Holly avoiding all eye contact after closing the door behind Gail.

"Yeah, okay. Because my friends sleepover in my bed every night and always turn up drunk on the weekends."

"Well, I might not sleep in your bed but I do sleep here every night," said Holly with a smirk. "And I do turn up drunk from time to time."

"You're such a smartass."

"Gail is just a friend, Lisa. So, can we please stop having this conversation every other morning? I'm an adult. I'm allowed to have friends, mother." Holly plopped down in the giant beanbag they had in the common area between their rooms.

"I agree. You're absolutely allowed to have friends," said Lisa as she crossed her arms over her chest and moved to sit on the couch across from Holly. "I wish you had more friends. But you can do better than some bottle blonde wannabe cop who uses you as a place to stay when she's too drunk to drive home."

"Even if she was just using me as a place to stay," said Holly. "I'd rather she do that then end up dead in a ditch."

"Ugh, fine Holly," huffed Lisa as she got up and headed to her room. "But I don't like her. Have your fun and find someone better."

Holly rolled her eyes and let her head fall back on the bean bag chair. She would be lying if she said she didn't already fear most of the things Lisa said to her. Gail had told her that she still lives with her parents off campus and that she just drives to and from school every day so of course Holly had considered that she was being used. And of course she dwelled on the fact that as far as she knew Gail was as straight but Holly had told herself that it wasn't an issue until it interfered with her school work. Until then she was free to pine until her heart was content, even if it ended up broken. So far, however, Gail appeared to take school just as seriously as she did and their study dates really did involve studying and not goofing around.

"All that we see or seem, is but a dream within a dream," said Holly to herself absentmindedly. Then she shook her head and laughed. Edgar Allan Poe was a little too on the nose for her quiet longing. Thankfully she didn't have to worry too much about her sanity until she started hearing ravens talking to her.

Sometime around dinner, Holly was sitting at her desk with papers and books strewn about her as she copied her notes with more clarity and reference notes to where she can look up more information within the text. She was so focused that she practically jumped out of her skin when her phone went off on her desk breaking the silence of her room.

Gail: Hey nerd. Come to a party with me tonight.

Holly: Such an eloquent request. I'm swooning as we speak.

Gail: My bad. Ho, nerd! Cometh to a celebration with me anon. Forsooth.

Holly laughed and rolled her eyes.

Holly: What kind of party?

Gail: The kind with free alcohol? I don't know. One of the sports teams is throwing it. I know you aren't big on parties but I figured with midterms over you'd like to get out of your bedroom for a night. We don't have to stay long.

Holly smiled.

Holly: Sure. What time?

Gail: I'll come get you in like two hours.

Holly: Okay.

As much as Holly would have loved to just stay in, Gail had never actually invited her to any of the parties she went to before and Holly was definitely a sucker for spending more time with Gail. It ended up taking Holly the whole two hours to get ready because she kept changing her mind about what she was wearing out of nervousness. She tended to wear rather plain clothes and it wasn't that Gail was always dressed up or anything but Holly was hoping she could at least manage to look equally as hot as Gail always seemed to do effortlessly. She finally settled on a button up with an A-shirt and some skinny jeans. As she was pulling on her Chuck Taylors there was a knock on the front door.

Before she could reach it though Lisa had already opened it.

"Gail."

"Lisa."

"You're here early for a Saturday night. Already drunk?"

Holly could see the annoyed look on Gail's face but before the blonde could open her mouth to speak Holly pushed passed Lisa and pulled them both out into the hallway.

"Bye, mother. I'll text you later," said Holly with a smile.

"Don't do anyone I wouldn't do," said Lisa while narrowing her eyes at Gail.

"She's as pleasant as always," said Gail as they headed toward the stairs.

"She's just overprotective."

"And super judgemental," added Gail.

"And super judgemental," agreed Holly.

As they rode the elevator down to the bottom floor, Holly took the opportunity to check out Gail while Gail checked her phone. Gail's shirt was definitely more distracting than normal as the front of the shirt dipped down in a v shape between her breasts showing the top of a black bra but otherwise she was dressed like her normal cool self. Holly honestly couldn't figure out what Gail got out of hanging out with her. Maybe she'd have to grow the nerve to ask her one day.

On their walk to the party, which was apparently at the same house where they met, the two women talked about what movies they wanted to see that were coming out. Holly was pretty sure she named every nerdy movie coming out in the next two months while Gail seemed to have a preference for horror because the movies she really wanted to see where all the scary ones Holly had originally planned on avoiding.

"You want to be a doctor and look at all sorts of gross stuff all day but you don't like scary movies?" Gail found this amusing apparently.

"I don't like jump scares. I don't care about gore. Slasher fics are funny more often than scary."

Gail laughed as they walked up the stairs to the front door of the house.

"Well, you'll just have to watch them with me," said Gail. "I'll protect you from the big bad monsters on screen."

Gail pulled the door open and held it for Holly and as she passed to go inside, she shoved Gail and smiled pulling the door closed behind her and held the door handle. A couple of people hanging out near the door looked at Holly but she just looked back at the door as the door handle jiggled under her hand.

"Holly. Come on. Let me in. The alcohol is being drunk without me."

With a laugh Holly let go of the door handle and Gail practically went stumbling into the house and into Holly's arms. Gail awkwardly righted herself and mumbled something about finding the booze and Holly just followed after her with a smile. They found a plethora of alcoholic drinks ranging from beer to questionable homemade moonshine in the kitchen and picked out their poisons. Holly was amazed to actually watch the way Gail could put liquor away in her slim frame. She had learned Gail could hold her own but she had never actually witnessed it before.

"I guess going out every weekend really helps your tolerance level," said Holly as she watched Gail down another shot of the questionable moonshine.

Gail looked at her and tilted her head. Those intense blue eyes she still wasn't used to looking into met hers and Holly melted a little inside while trying to cover it up with a huge mouthful of some seasonal beer she'd popped open a moment before.

"This is the first party I've been to since we met," said Gail.

Holly was about to ask Gail about why she was always drunk when she came over to Holly's if she didn't go out partying but soon a group of guys was pushing their way into the already crowded small kitchen and the girls were shoved into the dining room where some people had already set up beer pong. They moved to a small empty space next to some other party goers who were getting ready to watch the game. In order to hear each other over the music and the other people around them they stood practically pressed against each other and Holly all but forgot about Gail's comment.

Instead, they talked and laughed about the guys on one of the beer pong teams who were showboating for the ladies in the audience around them. Holly loved the way Gail would lean closer to her before talking because instead of the smell of sweaty bodies and alcohol that usually attacked her senses at parties all she could smell was whatever shampoo it was that Gail used. It was like being there with Gail was all she needed to feel less like a boring outsider around the others. She hadn't even considered escaping the sensory overload of the party yet.

As the two women enjoyed the game and each other's company they got lost in conversation and didn't notice an arm snaked its way around Gail's shoulder until the guy Holly had seen with Gail on the balcony when they met was invading their space.

"Hey Gail. Who's your hot friend?"

Holly watched Gail sharply elbow the guy in the ribs to get his arm from around her. He just laughed and rubbed his ribcage without leaving. Gail moved closer to Holly and instinctively Holly placed her hand on the small of her friend's back.

"I think you've taken one too many balls to the head, Peter," said Gail with an icy glare. "You've obviously lost your ability to read because I told you to fuck off and not talk to me."

Peter laughed as if Gail had told a good joke between friends and Holly was certain that whatever sport this guy played he has most definitely taken too many shots to the head. If Gail had ever looked at Holly the way she was looking at Peter she would certainly be less inclined to even be in the same room as her let alone talk to her.

"Come on, Gail. Don't be like that," said Peter as he tried to move closer. Without a word, Holly moved between them so he couldn't and they exchanged momentary looks. Peter looked Holly up and down in a way that made Holly's blood practically boil. "What? Is this your girlfriend? Are you dating girls now?"

"So what if she was?" said Holly. "Pretty sure she told you to fuck off so it's none of your business anyways."

"You want to say that to me again, dyke?" said Peter as he squared his shoulders to appear more intimidating. And Holly had to admit it was working. She was definitely terrified of getting hit but she wasn't just going to stand by while this guy was a creepy asshole to Gail.

"She said it was none of your business," said Gail.

By this point the people around them were paying much more attention to them than the beer pong game and even that had been put on pause with one drunk guy starting to drink one of the cups on the table. Holly looked around at them before turning her attention back to Peter who was unsuccessfully trying to stare Gail down. When Holly had agreed to go out this definitely wasn't anywhere on the list of things she thought would be happening.

"Yo, Peter, just leave them alone," said one of the guys that had been showing off earlier. "Don't be such a prick."

At the sound of someone else addressing him, Peter must have remembered that he was at a party and surrounded by people because the rage on his face quickly became a forced smile. After a quick look around he patted Gail and Holly on their shoulders, only Holly flinched, and laughed a sharp and very forced laugh.

"Enjoy her while you can, Ellen," said Peter to Holly as if they were old friends sharing a secret. "She's just another worthless whore."

Now, despite being a nerd her whole life Holly had never been in a fight. She always figured that being a girl helped keep her free from most of the physical harassment her male friends received. However, she was well versed in anatomy and she was more than aware of how much pressure it took to break a bone so when she smashed the palm of her hand upwards into Peter's nose she knew full and well what she was going for and she was not disappointed when he yelled out and clutched at his face. As Holly grabbed at her own hand in pain she saw blood seeping between Peter's fingers.

As Peter screamed out, a couple of the guys that had been playing beer pong rushed over to not only surround him to see if he was okay but to also keep between him and Holly. It was good that they did that because the second that adrenaline started to rush through Peter's system to dull the pain Holly had a feeling he was going to be aiming his rage at her.

"That bitch…," started Peter.

"Dude shut up, you totally deserved that," said one of his friends.

Another guy, who had run in from the kitchen, turned toward Gail and Holly and started pulling them toward the now empty kitchen. He looked back to make sure that their friends had Peter under control before turning to the girls.

"Sorry about him, Gail. He's been a raging dick since you dumped him."

"Since?" Gail crossed her arms over her chest.

"Okay he's always been a raging dick," said the guy. "Look. I told him not to come but when he showed up I told him to leave you alone."

"You should have told him to leave, Steve," said Gail. "I shouldn't have to worry about being attacked in my brother's fucking house."

"You're right. I'm sorry," said Steve before focusing on Holly. "That was a really nice hit. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine thanks," said Holly. She was trying to process the information she was learning but between the alcohol and the adrenaline in her system her brain was a little preoccupied.

"Well, if Peter the peter is staying we're gonna head out," said Gail as she snatched a couple bottles off the table and shoved them into her pockets with the necks sticking out. "And I'm taking these as payment."

"He probably actually needs to go to the hospital but I get it," said Steve with a smirk as she looked between Gail and Holly. Holly raised an eyebrow and Gail shoved him.

"Whatever loser," said Gail as she pulled Holly with her toward the front door.

The walk back to Holly's was mostly filled with silent glances at each other and small smiles. Neither girl really knew what to address first about their night let alone any of the insinuations made about them. It wasn't until they were back in Holly's kitchen and Gail was pouring them each a glass while Holly check to make sure Lisa was out that either of them really said anything.

"That was interesting," said Holly as she flopped down into the beanbag chair. Buying an adult sized bean bag chair had to be the best decision she ever made.

"Yeah," said Gail quietly. "Sorry about all that."

"So, can I ask about this Peter guy or is this one of those things we don't talk about?"

Gail handed Holly a glass and sat on the couch. She looked over Holly with a pensive look before shrugging.

"He's a friend of a friend of my brother's," said Gail. "I went on one date with him and he actually wasn't a huge tool during it so I gave him another shot with the party. He got drunk and proceeded to flirt with every single girl he laid eyes on and tried to get me into a threesome."

Holly pulled a face while she downed the contents of the glass in her hand. The liquor was like a shot of warmth through her body. She hadn't realized how cold she actually was while walking back from the party. Adrenaline had probably taken care of that. But now that she was home and resting her body was less fight or flight and more relaxed. She took a moment to flex the hand she hit Peter with and winced when she turned her wrist. Gail must have noticed because almost by magic she was sitting on the floor next to Holly holding her cold glass to Holly's wrist.

"Thanks," said Gail quietly, her focus on Holly's wrist.

"For what?"

"Breaking that dickhead's nose."

"He called you a whore," said Holly. Just remembering what he said was making her blood pressure rise again. "Fuck him."

"I didn't," said Gail with a smile while meeting Holly's eyes. "Pretty sure that's why he was mad."

Holly smiled back and for what seemed like forever both girls just look at each other. Finally, Holly closed her eyes and shook her head to try and break the spell it felt like she was under when she looked in Gail's eyes. It was already hard enough for her to focus with Gail holding her hand in her lap to keep the cold glass against her wrist.

"So, if you don't party every weekend, how come you're always drunk when you come over?"

Gail took a drink from her glass before putting it back against Holly's skin. She was staring intently at the bean bag chair as if lost in thought.

"I don't know," said Gail with a shrug. "I usually hang out with Steve and his friends and we drink and I just end up wandering over here. I can stop if it bothers you."

"No," said Holly a little more quickly than she meant. Gail glanced up at her and Holly looked down at her own glass. "I mean, you don't have to. I don't mind."

The sound of key in the door and the handle turning caught the attention of both girls.

"I know someone who does," said Gail quietly and both girls smirked at each other.

Lisa stumbled into the room followed by her girlfriend and stopped when she spotted Gail and Holly and the positions they were both sitting in. Lisa's girlfriend closed the door behind her and headed into Lisa's room while Lisa opened the fridge and grabbed two bottles of water before opening one and taking a sip while looking over the girls in front of her.

"Holly, are you okay?" Lisa must have finally noticed Gail's glass.

"I'm fine. I just had to break a guy's nose," said Holly with a smile before she finished off her drink. "It was pretty cool."

"You what?"

Lisa rushed over and would have shoved Gail out of the way if the blonde hadn't moved in time. She pulled Holly's arm to her and looked over her wrist, testing the flexibility and noticing Holly's pained reaction when pressure was put on it in certain positions.

"What the hell?" Lisa looked from Holly to Gail. "This wouldn't have happened if you hadn't gone out with her."

"Well I did," said Holly, snatching her wrist back from her friend. "And it did."

Lisa looked Holly over before huffing and heading back to the kitchen. She filled a bag with ice and threw it at Gail while heading to her room with her water and shutting the door with a snap.

"Come on," said Holly, slowly getting up. "The last thing I want to hear is them having sex."

Gail followed Holly into her room, bringing the ice and liquor with her. Holly kicked off her shoes and managed to unbutton her pants despite her wrist starting to hurt a little more each passing moment. Whether it was the haze of the alcohol of her mind just racing with multiple trains of thought she completely didn't think about Gail being in the room when she pulled her pants off and pulled her sweatpants on. When she turned around she could have sworn for a moment that Gail had been staring but if she had she quickly covered it up by turning and pour them both more drinks. Holly pulled an extra pair of sweatpants out of her drawers and an oversized t-shirt and handed them to Gail as Gail handed Holly her refilled glass. Gail looked at her, a little confused.

"I'm not spending another night watching you sleep in skinny jeans," said Holly shoving the clothes into her arms almost spilling Gail's own glass.

"Thanks," said Gail. "I'll...uh. I'll be right back."

As Gail went to the bathroom to change Holly pulled off her button up and sat in bed with the icepack. She wrapped it in a pillow cover and put it in her lap while she held her wrist against it. A few minutes later and Gail was back. She left her clothes on Holly's desk chair and headed to sit next to Holly who was turning her laptop on so they could watch a movie. Holly was trying to not focus on how much she liked seeing Gail wearing her clothes and tried to scroll through Netflix to find something to watch. Without saying a word, Gail pulled Holly's arm back into her lap along with the ice pack and that left Holly trying to also fight off focusing on Gail's hands caressing the skin of her wrist.

"What do you want to watch?"

"Something scary," said Gail with a smirk.

"Haha. So funny. For real, Gail. What do you want to watch?"

"I was being serious. Let's watch something scary. Come on, I'm already holding your hand so you'll be fine."

Gail wiggled her eyebrows at Holly and Holly rolled her eyes.

"Okay how about Scary Movie 2?" asked Holly with a smirk.

"That's not scary," whined Gail.

"It's in the horror section. It counts."

"Fine! But you're watching an actual scary movie with me sometime," said Gail with a huff as she got up to turn off the bedroom light and plug both of their phones in on the chargers on Holly's desk.

Holly just smiled as she laid back and got herself comfortable against the stash of pillows she had leaning against the wall and moved the laptop into her lap. Gail would normally just sit next to her while they watched stuff but tonight she lied down next to Holly and leaned her head against Holly's shoulder making Holly's heart skip. As the movie played Gail held onto Holly's hand keeping the ice on her wrist but as the ice melted and Gail tossed the bag her fingers found her way between Holly's. Holly was almost sure her heart stopped and she glanced over at Gail in the dark. Their eyes met before Gail just smiled and nervously looked away. Holly smiled back and closed her fingers around Gail's hand.

As the movie played on, they both laughed and poked fun of the silly movie they watched and Holly relished in the feel of Gail's hand in her own. Thinking back to earlier that day, Holly figured that Edgar Allan Poe was more than welcome to spend his time weeping by the sea grasping at sand and that she much prefered the reality of Gail's hand in her own to figurative language about futility.

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Author's Note: This is the most I've written in a long time. Wow. Look at that. I hope y'all like it. Hell, even if just one person likes it that's okay. I like it. I just really wanted to write something and I like writing about Gail and Holly meeting and I like writing about them in college so here we go. Any and all reviews are so much appreciated but please refrain from asking about my other fics in reviews for this one. I will update other things when I get to it. Thank you so much whoever reads all this.


	3. Better Than Cough Drops

" _Her heart was a secret garden and the walls were very high."_

In one swift movement Gail tossed back yet another shot of tequila and slammed the glass back down on the counter upside down. She kept telling herself, "one more shot will be enough. One more and I can tell her." And like every Friday night, she had started that mantra four shots before the last. Carl, one of Steve's friends, snatched the four shot glasses on the table in front of him and refilled them then slid them back in front of their owners.

"Ready?"

Carl raised his glass and three followed suite.

"Bottoms up!"

Five shots down.

Five shots down and the thought of actually telling Holly how she felt made her heart feel like it was stuck in her throat.

"Hey hey hey, little sis," said Steve as he came up behind Gail and directed her away from the kitchen counter surrounded by his friends. "I think it's time to cut you off for the night."

Gail only grunted in agreement as he steered her into the living room. He left her standing in the entryway to the room and went and sat back down on the couch with his friends who were playing some video game on the tv. It was the same thing every weekend. He had a bunch of his sports friends over to drink his alcohol and play video games and she was mostly left to her own devices with her brother only occasionally acting like one. She stared blankly at the screen for a moment before slowly making her way to the bathroom in the entryway.

Why was it so hard to just tell someone you like them in a more than friendly way? Well, that was only partially true. It was only hard to tell Holly. If she actually managed to tell her, Holly would only be the second person she had ever actually expressed romantic feelings for. Men always approached her. It was never the other way around. Gail Peck didn't chase after men.

Gail stared at herself in the mirror but couldn't even meet her own gaze. Rolling her eyes, she just sighed and left. She grabbed her coat off the hook in the hallway and started pulling it on as she yanked the front door open. She was almost done pulling it all the way on when she ran straight into someone almost knocking them both over. Luckily Gail grabbed the door jam before also grabbing the person she ran into and found herself looking straight into a face she hadn't expected to see just yet.

"Holly?"

"Hey. Sorry," said Holly. "I just didn't like the thought of you walking to my dorm drunk and alone so I uh...thought I'd pick you up?"

Holly awkwardly laughed as she detached Gail's arm from around her waist.

"I guess it was kind of presumptuous to just assume you'd come over again."

"No," said Gail quietly. "I was just heading over."

When Holly smiled Gail felt like she just downed another shot as the same warm feeling spread through her chest. In order to catch her breath and slow her racing heart, Gail turned and focused on closing the door behind her. When she turned back around and headed down the path to the sidewalk she hoped she was acting like normal because on the inside she was a mess.

The night they'd met, Gail had mostly thought Holly was a huge dork but she had popped into her life at almost the perfect moment. Gail had been mad at herself for letting another piece of shit guy use her and treat her like a piece of ass. It was like one after another she just kept meeting the most disappointing men and in turn making it nearly impossible to not disappoint her parents. And then there she was, this nerd reciting Shakespeare from the ground below her making her smile while she was trying to berate herself in peace. How was she supposed to keep up her self hatred and denial when this beautiful drunk girl was making her heart skip?

"You okay?" Holly nudged Gail with her shoulder as they walked and Gail realized that they had been walking quietly the whole time and were almost at Holly's dorm.

"Are your parents supportive of you?" asked Gail almost without thinking. She quickly backtracked to make what she was asking less obvious. "Like, do they trust you to make your choices and stuff?"

Holly silently considered Gail for a minute as they walked, a small hint of concern on her face. Then she shrugged and looked ahead of them again.

"I guess," said Holly. "I'm sure if I came home with a face tattoo I'd get a stern talking to about professionalism but I don't think they'd hate me for it if it's what I really wanted."

"Do you want a face tattoo?" After everything she'd learned about Holly so far she couldn't imagine her with a face tattoo. It probably didn't help that the only face tattoos Gail had as a point of reference where gang tattoos from mug shots.

"No." Holly laughed and shook her head. "I was just trying to think of something extreme that might actually cause my parents alarm."

"And your first thought was face tattoo?" Gail smirked.

"Well, no. My first thought was meth but I was trying to stay within the actual realm of possibilities. I didn't want to sound ridiculous."

Gail and Holly looked at each other before laughing. As the laughter died off and they kept walking Gail's face must have fell again without her noticing because Holly was giving her a concerned look again.

"I'm guessing your parents aren't very supportive," said Holly quietly.

"I'd probably be disowned if I became a firefighter instead of a cop. So, definitely no face tattoos. Or meth."

"You have to be exaggerating," said Holly in complete disbelief.

"Feel free to ask my cousin. If you can find him because we aren't supposed to talk to him anymore."

"For being a firefighter?"

Holly led them up the stairs to the entrance to her dorm and held the door open for Gail.

"Well, that's the joke," said Gail. "But I'm pretty sure it's because he's…"

Gail had trailed off and was hoping she had said the second half of her sentence as quietly as she thought she had. She punched the button on the elevator without looking at Holly who's eyes she could practically feel boring into the side of her face.

"Gay?"

Gail didn't say anything and just chose to stare at the buttons for the different floors. She didn't even realize she hadn't chosen one until Holly's fingers slid into view and pressed the one for her floor.

"I'll try to keep that in mind if I ever happen to meet them." Holly laughed in an attempt to make the subject appear lighter than it was but the very idea of Elaine or Bill hating Holly just made Gail's skin crawl. "I'll have to leave my Gay Purrride shirt at home."

"Oh they wouldn't care that you're gay." Gail picked at a thread on one of the sleeves of her jacket. "You're not…"

A knowing silence hung in the air. Holly wasn't their daughter.

"...related," offered Holly.

"Yeah."

The elevator slowed to a stop at Holly's floor and the doors opened. Gail waited for Holly to exit before following her out into the hallway. Holly silently led them to her suite and let Gail in before locking the door behind them. Gail noticed that Lisa's door was open which meant she wasn't there so she threw herself down into the giant bean bag chair and watched Holly make drinks in the kitchen. Normally Holly would make Gail drink water for the rest of the night but the air of their conversation must have made Holly realize a drink would be more comforting.

Holly walked over to the bean bag chair and sat the floor next to it while holding out Gail's drink for her to take. Gail accepted it and cursed herself for enjoying the feel of running her fingers across Holly's as much as she did. Apparently her self hatred just wanted to be on full blast for the rest of the evening.

"I came out to my parents last year," said Holly, breaking the silence with the answers to unasked questions. "My mom said she figured it was either girls or books. My dad just kind of shrugged and said it didn't matter to him so long as I didn't run out getting any face tattoos or doing meth."

Despite Gail's attempts to mope she couldn't fight the smile that cracked her lips and the small laugh that escaped her throat. Holly's smile in return was warm and caring.

"Sounds like he set a lot of boundaries. Very strict."

"Yeah. Super tightass," said Holly. "I remember asking him for a risky kitchen tattoo across my knuckles for my 18th and get this, he says 'it could be dangerous'. All he got me was some brass knuckles and an 8 ball of coke."

"You're so twisted," laughed Gail. "How do you even know what an 8 ball is?"

"I watch movies and television, Gail. Just because I spend most of my time studying doesn't mean I live under a rock."

"Not under a rock. Just in your room."

"Yeah well my room has wifi."

Just like when they were walking the two girls smiled at each other for a few moments before Gail's mind became overburdened with self defeating thoughts and her face fell. She looked away from Holly and sipped at her drink.

"Do you think you'll ever tell your parents?"

Gail's eyes instantly met Holly's. Until that moment both girls had been more than content to ignore what Gail had been inadvertently saying about herself. Any pretense was dropped if she answered this question and she wouldn't just be admitting to Holly what's she'd always known about herself she'd be admitting it for the first time period. Even to herself. Gail expected to be more terrified but the concern on Holly's face spoke volumes of how serious she understood this was for Gail. Before she could answer she looked back down at her drink and swallowed a good mouthful of the pina colada in her hand.

"No. Maybe," said Gail. She swallowed hard against the knot in her throat. "I don't know."

Holly's head tilted to the side slightly in a way that reminded Gail of a puppy. Then a look of dawning realization washed over Holly's face.

"No one knows." Holly's voice was barely above a whisper.

Gail shook her head slightly before letting it lull into her chest and laughing. She was so mad at her drunk self for letting all of this drag out like this. All she had wanted was a little liquid courage to help her talk to Holly about her feelings not to spill all of her family drama all over her.

"This is absolutely ridiculous," she said.

"What is?" Holly was suddenly very confused. This conversation had suddenly taken a very strange turn.

"Here I am revealing more to you about myself and my family than I've ever told anyone in my life," said Gail as she covered her face in one hand and continued to smile uncontrollably at the stupidity of her situation. "Not that it's a bad thing. But I've somehow managed to turn 'hey Holly I really like you we should make out' into here's my tragic backstory about how I've never even said the words 'I'm gay' aloud before...before...just now…"

Gail stopped when her drunken words caught up with her ears and then her brain. She swallowed hard and looked over at Holly. Her friend was still sitting right next to her on the floor but now she had a wide eyed expression on her face while she stared into the nothingness next to Gail. Not knowing what else to do Gail decided to just sort of sit and wait for a response. She just hoped it wasn't as negative as she feared.

Just as Gail was about to open her mouth to apologize for making things awkward, she found herself being pushed back into the bean bag chair. Holly's weight bared down on her and her mouth became preoccupied with Holly's. Inhaling deeply through her nose, Gail broke apart for a second to let out the shakiest breath of relief that had ever escaped her lips. After shoving her glass haphazardly onto the bookshelf behind her head Gail used both hands to run her fingers through Holly's hair and pull her back into their kiss. A month of dreaming about kissing Holly paled in comparison to the actual feeling of her friend's lips against her own. In fact, Gail was fairly certain that of the top five kisses since the invention of kissing, this one blew them all away.

Then, the sound of Lisa practically crashing through the door and into the kitchen caused both girls to jump apart. They silently watched as Lisa and her girlfriend completely ignored their presence as they fumbled their way to Lisa's room while completely engrossed in each other. As the door to Lisa's room snapped shut Gail and Holly looked at each other and burst into laughter. Then as their laughter at the situation died down they just considered each other for a few silent moments.

Finally Holly stood up, collected their glasses, and took them to the sink. Gail just followed her movements with her eyes looking for the slightest sign that she should apologize or, worse, leave. But before she could spend any more time dwelling on every possible negative outcome Holly just walked up to her and held out her hand to help Gail up from her seat.

"I think that's our cue to go to my room."

Gail smiled nervously and accepted Holly's hand. When they were both safely behind Holly's closed door, Holly dropped Gail's hand and leaned against the door frame. Even though they were both looking each other in the eye, Gail couldn't help but notice Holly lick her lips.

"What do you want to do now?"

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Author's Note: Not as long as the last but I really love the banter in this one. I hope you loved it just as much. Thank for you for your reviews. It really keeps me motivated to read nice things about my writing. And please continue to keep requests to update other fics out of the reviews for this one, thank you. The opening quote and title of the chapter are from the Princess Bride (along with some vague theme inspiration for the chapter).


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